In this lesson, students learn that the sun heats up land, air, and water and study basic line plots of authentic NASA data. Students will practice drawing conclusions based on graphed data. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and...(View More) sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions.(View Less)

In this lesson students will investigate nitrogen dioxide levels in the atmosphere over a one-year period. The students will have to look at several regions from around the world to draw conclusions regarding NO2 amounts. From the plots, students...(View More) will have to brainstorm the reasons behind the variability in NO2 concentrations. Detailed procedures, materials, vocabulary linked to an online glossary, and teachers notes are provided. This lesson is from the MY NASA DATA project, which has created microsets from large scientific data sets, and wrapped them with tools, lesson plans, and supporting documentation so that a teacher, or anyone in the interested public, can use authentic NASA Earth system science data.(View Less)

This is a lesson about spacecraft communication. Learners will explore the concepts of "signal" and "noise" by listening to a computer-generated signal from two different distances with no additional background noise, and then with background noise,...(View More) and compare their experiences in a science journal page.(View Less)

This is a set of materials about spectroscopy, including a downloadable PowerPoint presentation and two demonstrations or activities. Learners will read and/or hear about the science of spectroscopy, what a spectrum is, and how spectroscopy is...(View More) important to the study of our Sun. These resources can also accompany the Stanford Solar Center's Build Your Own Spectroscope activity.(View Less)

This is a lesson about designing and building an effective sunshade for a model MESSENGER craft. Learners will build a model of MESSENGER. They will use a scientific approach to solve problems and work as a cooperative team. They will discover their...(View More) own strengths, and those of others, and will witness firsthand the importance of both successes and failures. This is activity 4 of 4 for the Pre-K - 4 range of "Staying Cool."(View Less)

This is a lesson about the Cassini Spacecraft. Learners will engage in basic problem-solving as they design and construct their own small model of a spacecraft. Through writing and illustration, students will document their work and will complete a...(View More) Design Review Summary. Like scientists and engineers, students will make presentations to show and explain their models and design summaries to their peers. This is lesson 5 of 10 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 1-2.(View Less)

This activity provides tips and ideas for helping children do science with a digital camera–and have fun while doing so. For example, cameras can preserve the presence of transient events like clouds, contrails, rain, snow, air pollution and...(View More) sunsets. Cameras can also document all kinds of living plants and insects, birds, reptiles and other animals. Photographs of specific scenes can be saved for months or years so they can be compared with new photographs to see if any changes have occurred.(View Less)

The activities in this investigation train students to differentiate between physical (natural) and human-made features. Using both space shuttle photographs and satellite images, students will identify some of Earth's prominent natural and...(View More) human-made features. Students begin by matching images of individual physical features with their definitions, which they then must locate on larger scale images. Photos of three U.S. cities allow students to practice identifying both types of features. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. The teacher's guide will begin with a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. This is Investigation 1 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

Photos and images taken from the space shuttle are used to show unusual paths, such as those created by smoke, camel tracks, lava flows, and river deltas. After observing and discussing the images, students will record their observations, and draw...(View More) conclusions about the origin and nature of the paths. Additionally, students are introduced to one-way (rivers, jet stream) and two-way (roads, bird flyways) paths. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 3 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

This investigation requires students to locate several major U.S. cities using four different sources: an outline map, a nighttime lights image, an atlas map, and a space shuttle image. After analyzing and comparing the information from those...(View More) sources, students will offer explanations for establishing cities in particular locations. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)